The Common Council will review a request to the state for city ownership of the former National Guard armory on Black River Boulevard.

The seven-member council’s agenda for its 7 p.m. Wednesday meeting at City Hall includes a request for the state Legislature to transfer the property at 1106 Black River Blvd. to the city. The surplus property is under the state Office of General Services, which is headed by RoAnn M. Destito of Rome.

Mayor Joseph R. Fusco Jr. has a plan to consolidate two city operations there. He intends to close the North Madison Street field office of Parks and Recreation and the Electrical Department’s office in old City Hall on North James Street, and move those two operations into the former armory. He said the county has asked for storage space in the armory building.

The former armory will also be home to a "community center," Fusco called it, an open space for such things as trade shows. The city, he said, would market the space to those who want to have such things as technology expos or gun shows. Entities such as the Rome Area Chamber of Commerce will then be able to help spread the word and attract interest in the facility, he said.

Chamber President William K. Guglielmo today said: "We certainly would promote the availability of the space." The chamber’s Rome Home Show, which had taken place at the armory for almost all of its history, was held in Kennedy Arena this year, he noted, and that probably won’t change. "We had a very successful experience at Kennedy Arena" for the Rome Home Show."

The request, said Fusco, should be accepted because Rome’s proposal is the only one the state has received.

The New York Guard closed the site just over a year ago. Located on the east side of the boulevard, opposite Franklyn’s Field, the building was constructed by the state on a 4.6-acre site that was the former Colonels baseball park. It is an L-shaped structure of brick exterior with limestone trim and steel sash. It has two stories in front and one story in the rear, and also has a basement. It is assessed for $1,444,500, though it is tax-exempt. If the city becomes the owner, it would remain tax-exempt.